A word of warning for potential Tesla owners.

Unfortunately, Tesla needs to improve in this arena. Some parts seem to always be on back order. I've been in a similar situation and it's frustrating. Hopefully you can escalate the request to someone more understanding and at least receive a Tesla loaner until your vehicle is fully repaired. Hang in there!

 

Honestly, this is one of the worst fears I have with my Tesla...that is not being able to get parts in a timely fashion. That said, a few things come to mind:

1. Was your vehicle undrivable? And if not, why did you let the body shop hold your car for 6 months?
2. Shouldn't you have attempted to get the other driver's insurance to pay for your downtime?
3. How did it take 6 months to get to this point in communication with Tesla?

Now, Tesla didn't rear end you. I don't see why they have any obligation to reimburse you financially. Again, it's not as though I'm not sympathetic to your plight...this totally sucks, and I'm sorry really sorry that you've had to go through this.

 

This is why Tesla is starting the process of bringing the repair process in house.

Hopefully that along with straightening out the parts issue will get cars back onto the road.

The fear of being run into is absolutely the biggest drawback of owning a Tesla. Now one might say the odds of that occurrence are low, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. Somewhere around 40-50% of drivers are on their cell phones.

 

Doesn't look too bad. How fast was the car going that hit you? Looks as if you can still drive it?

 

Wow -- that doesn't look like 30K but maybe you were pushed into the car infant resulting in front end damage as well ?

or was there frame and or battery damage somehow ?

 

Sorry to hear about your loss of use ... you really should consider driving your vehicle while you wait for parts.
Secure the hatch and you are good to go...

 

oh... ok that makes sense..how close was it to writing off ?

 

I agree with others that the fear of an accident is the single biggest concern I've had owning my MS these last 3.5 years. It was a big issue when I bought it, and by many accounts it has not improved one bit. Bringing body repair in-house is absolutely NOT the answer, they have enough on their plate without trying to take over the auto repair business nationwide. The solution is prioritizing timely parts availability to body shops, something they have failed to consistently do and it will probably be the reason I trade it in for a non-Tesla vehicle.

 

If this parts problem still exists this time next year it will bode very badly for sales and Tesla as a whole.

 

Thanks for sharing. Tesla's lack of parts is an embarrassment. Do not let up on the pressure because their incompetence must change.

That being said, I DO NOT believe the idea of Tesla-owned and operated body shops is a good solution. Tesla service centers are NOT an example of what we need more of. We need many more INDEPENDENT shops that compete on quality, price, timing, etc. Anytime there is a monopoly on anything- price goes up, quality goes down, and the customers are treated like they're the problem. (Reference your local ISP as an example).

Tesla needs many, many more independent repair and service shops. Anything else is a recipe for more frustration.

 

May I ask who your insurance company is?
Im surprised they wouldn't give you a rental car

 

Yes. But mass sales changes the game plan if Tesla is to stay successful.

 

Why not drive the Tesla instead of the beater... EV vs. ICE is an easy choice

 

Sorry to hear about your experience. Asking Tesla to expedite parts sounds reasonable. Parts availability is a problem for instances like this. I’d like to see Tesla make repair parts a priority for their approved repairers.

I’m not sure that bringing repairs in house would help. There’s a lot of experience in specialist repairers that would be difficult to match.

Given the volumes of vehicles produced & in circulation and relative maturity of supply chains I don’t think the comparison with BMW, MB, and so on is helpful. Might as well say to a MB owner that their repair would have been faster and cheaper if they’d had a ford.